Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Flores is one of the most reliable Republican votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Republican Party in Congress.

Biography

After earning his bachelor's degree, Flores worked for several energy companies, eventually reaching the executive level. He earned his CPA in 1978 and his M.B.A. in 1985. He also serves on the boards of several non-profits. His election to the U.S. House was his first foray into politics.[2]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Flores' academic, professional and political career:[3]

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[9] For more information pertaining to Flores's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[10]

National security

NDAA

Flores voted for HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[11]

DHS Appropriations

Flores voted for HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act (2014) Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 that was largely along party lines.[12]

CISPA (2013)

Flores voted for HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill permitted federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[13]

Economy

Farm bill

On January 29, 2014, the U.S. House approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill.[14] The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop.[15][16] However, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states.[16] Flores voted with 161 other Republicanrepresentatives in favor of the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 15, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014.[17][18] The House voted 359-67 for the 1,582 page bill, with 64 Republicans and three Democrats voting against the bill.[18] The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations.[19] It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and protected the Affordable Care Act from any drastic cuts. Flores voted with the majority of the Republican party in favor of the bill.[17]

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[20] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[21] Flores voted in favor of the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[22]

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[23] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Flores voted against HR 2775.[24]

Flores declined to accept his salary while the government was shutdown.[25]

Federal Pay Adjustment Act

Flores voted for HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees. The bill passed the House on February 15, 2013, with a vote of 261 - 154. The bill called for a stop to a 0.5 percent pay increase for all federal workers from taking effect, saving the federal government $11 billion over 10 years.[26]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Flores voted for House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[27] The vote largely followed party lines.[28]

Healthcare

Healthcare Reform Rules

Flores voted for House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires that all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[29]

Social issues

Abortion

Flores voted for HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196 that largely followed party lines. The purpose of the bill was to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[30]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Flores voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[34]

Issues

On The Issues Vote Match

On The Issues conducts a VoteMatch analysis of elected officials based on 20 issue areas. Rather than relying on incumbents to complete the quiz themselves, the VoteMatch analysis is conducted using voting records, statements to the media, debate transcripts or citations from books authored by or about the candidate. Based on the results of the quiz, Flores is a Hard-Core Conservative. Flores received a score of 18 percent on social issues and 88 percent on economic issues.[35]

On The Issues organization logo.

The table below contains the results of analysis compiled by staff at On The Issues.

Campaign themes

2014

Excerpt: "Unlike a lot of folks in Congress, I do not believe government gets better just because it gets bigger. I do not think there is a government solution to every challenge our country faces."

Economic Recovery

Excerpt: "Every business and every family in America has faced difficult financial situations before. For all of us, it meant we tightened our belts, set priorities, and worked hard to move ahead."

AMERICAN Energy Development

Excerpt: "If there is one aspect of America’s economy that I know well it is the energy industry. I can tell you first hand; this is one industry that has literally been hamstrung by people in Congress who put politics, radical ideas, scare-mongering rhetoric, and grandstanding ahead of AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE."

Staying On Offense Against Terrorism

Excerpt: "It seems every month, events occur which remind us we face a dedicated, murderous swarm of fanatics whose goal is to kill civilians, harm our economy, and destroy America. We cannot ever relent in our efforts to kill or capture these terrorists. "

Campaign donors

Fundraising events

Comprehensive donor history

Comprehensive donor information for Flores is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Flores raised a total of $5,895,258 during that time period. This information was last updated on January 27, 2015.[41]

2012

Flores won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Flores' campaign committee raised a total of $1,301,529 and spent $1,059,095.[51] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[52]

PGI: Change in net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Flores' net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $5,029,496 and $6,495,483. That averages to $5,762,489, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2012 of $7,614,097.96. Flores ranked as the 64th most wealthy representative in 2012.[54] Between 2009 and 2012, Flores' calculated net worth[55] decreased by an average of 7 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[56]

Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[58]

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Flores received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Oil & Gas industry.

From 2009-2014, 25.46 percent of Flores' career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.[59]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Flores missed 77 of 2,678 roll call votes from January 2011 to July 2014. This amounts to 2.9 percent, which is worse than the median of 2.5 percent among current congressional representatives as of July 2014.[62]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Flores paid his congressional staff a total of $775,582 in 2011. Overall, Texas ranked 27th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[63]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

↑The questions in the quiz are broken down into two sections -- social and economic. In social questions, liberals and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while conservatives and populists agree in choosing the more-restrictive answers. For the economic questions, conservatives and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while liberals and populists agree in choosing the more-restrictive answers.